I have sometimes wondered why Jesus was water baptized. Have you ever questioned why Jesus would feel the need to be baptized when he had no need to repent? If so, we are in good company, because even John the Baptist felt uneasy baptizing the Son of God. Matthew 3:14 says, “John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” So if John the Baptist thought it contradictory to baptize Jesus, then what was the real purpose of his public baptism?
In Bible days, Jewish families would take a lamb without any blemish to the temple once a year to offer a sacrifice for their sin. It was common for the family to have the lamb live in their home for up to three days before it’s sacrifice. When John the Baptist announced Christ as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” every person standing there that day knew exactly what John the Baptist was saying because they grew up selecting their own lambs as the sacrifice for their sins.
When Christ, the Lamb of God, was crucified on the cross, it was on Passover at the exact time Israel atoned for sin. Christ became our Passover Lamb. Still the question remains, why was he publicly baptized? Galatians 4:4-5 answers this question. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Jesus was publicly baptized because he voluntarily identified with humanity (those born of woman and those under the law).
Don’t miss the important phrase when the fullness of time had come. This is part of the scope of time indicated in the scriptures, eternity past, present, and future. 1 Peter 1:19-20 says, “but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you.” Before the foundation of the world teaches eternity past. From the time of Christ’s birth to the present church age, this is eternity present. “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Scripture then fast forwards us to eternity future with Revelation 5 where Christ is seen as the Lamb slain for the salvation of sinners. In eternity future, all people ransomed by the blood of Christ will cry out, “worthy is the Lamb that was slain!”
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